Currency processing machines generally have the ability to receive bulk currency (e.g., currency bills and/or coins) from a user of the machine. Coin processing modules, for example, are commonly used as coin redemption machines wherein, after the deposited coins are counted and totaled, a receipt is issued indicating the value of the deposited coins. The user may exchange this receipt for the amount of deposited coins in the form of currency bills or, optionally, for an amount of the deposited coins less a commission charged for use of the coin redemption machine.
Coin redemption machines are used in banking environments (in patron accessible areas and in employee-only areas), business environments (e.g., armored transport services, telephone companies, etc.) and retail environments, such as grocery stores. In operation, a user inputs a batch of coins of mixed denominations into a hopper of the coin redemption machine. The machine discriminates items that are not valid coins, determines the value of the valid deposited coins and outputs a receipt indicative of the determined amount. In some embodiments, the receipt also indicates a second, lesser amount, which reflects a commission charged for use of the machine. The user exchanges the receipt for paper currency for the value of the deposited coins less the commission. In a banking environment, a user may exchange the receipt at a teller's window, whereas, in a retail environment, the user can exchange the receipt at a cashier's station or a patron-service station. In one example, the coin redemption machine disclosed by Molbak in U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,570, receives a number of unsorted coins, sorts the coins, counts the total value of the valid coins, and outputs a voucher related to the total amount (i.e., less a commission charge for the use of the machine). The user then takes this voucher to a cashier or clerk for redemption, following the verification of the authenticity of the voucher by the cashier or clerk.
One disadvantage associated with conventional coin redemption machines is the potential for fraud which exists with current receipt-type systems or voucher-based systems. For example, a receipt or voucher can be duplicated (i.e., counterfeited) and then exchanged more than once resulting in a loss for that particular store. Additionally, receipts or vouchers may be altered, so as to fraudulently increase an apparent value of the receipt in an attempt to obtain more money from the receipt that its true value. Accordingly, as one example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,972 to Geiger et al. discloses a coin redemption machine printed voucher comprising various devices to deter, reduce, or eliminate unauthorized duplication or counterfeiting of such voucher, including special inks, papers, indicia, and/or perforations. These security devices, and many others (e.g., holograms, optically variable devices, watermarks, fluorescent fibers, taggants, threads, barcodes, batch and date codes, micro-perforations, etc.), have been long-known in the negotiable instrument field and have been applied to negotiable instruments in a long-standing struggle to stem losses attributable to counterfeiting and stay ahead of counterfeiters.
Additional disadvantages associated with the conventional coin redemption machines include, but are not limited to, additional time and steps associated with the redemption process, inconvenience to the bearer of the receipt or the voucher, unfamiliarity with the receipt or voucher security features by the clerk or cashier, and human error.